By working out how much you can save and keeping a close eye on your spending you can have enough money to put asideeach month.

Set your budget

One
of the best places to start when you’re thinking about saving is to set
yourself a budget. Work
out what you can afford to save each month by making a list of your monthly
expenses. Make
sure you include regular expenses like your rent or mortgage payments as well
as other essentials like utility bills and food shopping.

Also,
include some money for less regular spending like going out with friendsso you know exactly how much you
expect to spend each month.

When
you’re setting your budget, be honest with yourself. Make sure your budget’s
realistic and you can stick to it otherwise you won’t reach your savings goals. Once
you’ve written down all your expenses, subtract that amount from your monthly
income and you’ll know exactly how much you can put into your savings account
each month.

If
you’re about to start saving, think about where you can cut down on your
expenses to give you more money to put into your savings account.

Reducing
the amount you pay for non-essential things is a great place to start. Simple
changes like taking a packed lunch to work rather than going out to buy it each
day or not buying a coffee on the way to work in the morning couldsave you hundreds of pounds every
year.

And
if you enjoy socialising with friends, you can make it cheaper by taking
advantage of the many discounts and vouchers available online.

Then
there are the essential things you have to pay forlike your electricity, broadband and phone bills, your rent and
your weekly shopping. You
can cut these costs too, just by shopping around. With so many companies
competing for your business you’ll often find there are new deals available
which can reduce your costs.

Use
price comparison tools online to make sure you’re getting the best deal for your
phone, broadband, gas and electricity. And if you find a better deal, switch
your supplier and use the money you’ve saved to top up your savings account.

Stay in control of
your money

Once
you’ve set your budget and worked out where you can make savings, it’s time to
start managing your money.

It
takes just a few minutes to open a savings
account online. With
just a few clicks, you’ll be up and running and ready to start managing your
savings. With
an online savings account, you’ll be able to see how much you’ve savedevery time you log in. So you’ll
always know whether you’re on track.

And
with instant transfers between your current account and your online savings
account, you can top up your savings whenever you like. So
if you’ve got some money left at the end of the month, simply transfer it into
your savings account and start earning interest.